HR's finest minds share strategies of success at SLASSCOM People Summit 2023

SLASSCOM Lead Summit Organisers - Sampath Jayasundara, Thilanka Jayathilake, Sharon Kern and Dilini Peiris 

The SLASSCOM People Summit 2023 themed “Survive To Thrive”, organised by The SLASSCOM HR Forum, brought together a team of top international speakers this year, who discussed and shared best practices on handling and overcoming some of the most pressing issues faced by the HR fraternity and provided a great learning platform and strategies on mitigating the current challenges.

This year's event showcased engaging panel sessions, keynotes, and conversations related to employee retention, engagement and talent management. Attendees were able to gain new insights from industry experts, swap ideas, and collaborate on projects. 

The summit highlighted the strength of teamwork, with its emphasis on knowledge sharing. It also demonstrated the importance of having an open and diverse environment for meaningful conversations and the exchange of ideas, the need to embrace a multi-generational approach in the workplace and the importance of people-centred approaches to business.

Day one saw industry experts tackle a range of important topics, from  The Learning Future CEO/Founder Louka Perry who spoke on “the purpose motive” whilst Author, Executive Coach and YES Chief Executive Thinker  Grant Bosnick engaged the audience on the subject of “tailored approaches to self-leadership”.  

SLASSCOM ESG Forum Head and Virtusa Corporation Senior VP and Global Head of Facilities and Sustainability Denver De Zylva touched on the “What, why, who and how of ESG to differentiate and future proof your business and supply chain”.   

Day two featured thought-provoking insights provided on Employee experience and Culture by Human Inc. Founding Partner and CEO Christoffer Erichsen followed by PwC South East Asia Innovation Lead (Digital Transformation, Sustainability and ESG) Emmy-Lou Quirke, who outlined her thoughts on harnessing people engagement to your advantage. 

Author, TEDx Speaker and Leadership Trainer Vidusha Nathavitharana spoke on “Thriving in Chaos - every crisis is a wonderful opportunity”, along with The Resilience Institute (Europe) Co-founder and Partner Thierry Moschetti who spoke on the insightful topic of “Thriving with Resilience in a changing world”

Summarising the conference’s proceedings and key learnings, SLASSCOM HR and Entrepreneurship and Innovation Forums Director and Hsenid Business Solutions PLC CEO and Director Sampath Jayasundara noted: “The people are our future. Through this summit, we wanted to bring together like-minded individuals to create a thriving and progressive mindset no matter the external challenges.”

SLASSCOM HR Forum Head Thilanka Jayathilake who is also IFS Sri Lanka Director Human Resources emphasised the importance of developing a strong and flexible workforce stating: “When people are empowered to make the most of their abilities, they become more engaged and productive within their organisations. 

“Employees feel more motivated when they have the autonomy to take control of their professional development and are given the right resources to reach their goals. Ultimately, when employees are empowered to reach their full potential, organisations are able to benefit from improved engagement and productivity.”

The event was supported by various key partners, namely the Gold Sponsor IFS, Engagement Partner 99x, Tech Partner hSenid Biz, Renewable Energy Partner Hayleys Solar, Travel Partner Acorn Travel, Media Partner Daily FT, Corporate Sponsors Dialog and HCL Tech, and Event Partners Nagarro, ACCA, HRP, AICPA and CIMA and Fortude. 

The summit also featured a quiz and multiple raffle draws sponsored by Daraz, WineWorld.lk and Cinnamon Lakeside keeping the crowd engaged and came to a close with a networking evening and after party.